Mercury speciation and emissions from coal combustion in Guiyang, southwest China

• Published in: Environmental research 2007-10, Vol.105 (2), p.175-182
• Main Authors: Tang, Shunlin, Feng, Xinbin, Qiu, Jianrong, Yin, Guoxun, Yang, Zaichan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT; Air; Air Pollutants - analysis; Air Pollutants - chemistry; AIR POLLUTION CONTROL; Biological and medical sciences; Carbon - analysis; Chemical and industrial products toxicology. Toxic occupational diseases; CHINA; COAL; Coal - analysis; Coal Ash; Coal combustion; COMBUSTION; ELECTROSTATIC PRECIPITATORS; EMISSION; Emission factors; Environmental Monitoring; Environmental pollutants toxicology; FOSSIL-FUEL POWER PLANTS; Guiyang; INDUSTRIAL PLANTS; Industrial Waste - analysis; INVENTORIES; Medical sciences; MERCURY; Mercury - analysis; Mercury - chemistry; Mercury species; Metals and various inorganic compounds; Particulate Matter - analysis; PARTICULATES; Power Plants; Toxicology; Waste Disposal, Fluid
• ISSN: 0013-9351; 1096-0953
• DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2007.03.008

Although China has been regarded as one of the largest anthropogenic mercury emission source with coal combustion, so far the actual measurements of Hg species and Hg emissions from the combustion and the capture of Hg in Chinese emission control devices were very limited. Aiming at Hg mercury species measurements in Guiyang, the capital city of Guizhou province in Southwest China, we studied flue gases of medium-to-small-sized industrial steam coal-firing boiler (10–30 t/h) with no control devices, medium-to-small-sized industrial steam coal-firing boiler with WFGD and large-scale coal combustion with ESPs using Ontario Hytro method. We obtained mercury emission factors of the three representative coal combustion and estimated mercury emissions in Guiyang in 2003, as well as the whole province from 1986 to 2002. Coal combustion in Guiyang emitted 1898 kg mercury to the atmosphere, of which 36% Hg is released from power plants, 41% from industrial coal combustion, and 23% from domestic users, and 267 kg is Hg p, 813 kg is Hg 2+ and 817 kg is Hg 0. Mercury emission in Guizhou province increased sharply from 5.8 t in 1986 to 16.4 t in 2002. With the implementation of national economic strategy of China's Western Development, the annual mercury emission from coal combustion in the province is estimated to be about 32 t in 2015.